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Im so sorry for your loss. This is such a sad time for you and dealing with everything does not help. My mom passed away last year and she wanted to take care of all the paperwork beforehand but I told her I didn't want to deal with any of that with the little time left I had with her. She didn't have a will or anything. She didn't own a house either. So her assets were below 150,000 so I didn't have to go through probate and luckily im am an only child; only heir. But wow have I had to deal with every thing because I'm technically the heir but also I'm the executor. But since your mom owns a house and you have sibilings it will have to go through probate and you will be appointed an executor who will then take care of all the paperwork then at the end the money that is left will be divided between your sisters. Unfortunately I do not know about your sister having to move out. I think it depends on if everything is taking care of. if not you have to sell the house for the money to take care of it. But it is a long process. I didn't have to go through probate and I'm still dealing with paperwork a year and half later. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. But hopefully your sisters and you won't lose eachother over this. Processions and money are nothing compared to the love of a family. I wish you the best.
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earlybird Jul 2019
Wonderful post. What gentle compassion in your words to bg0884 and sound advice. I am sorry for your loss of your mother. It is so difficult when one loses a parent. It is posts like this one that makes worthwhile reading.
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God bless you. My brother (mlm's Trustee) threw my family and me out of my mom's house the day after my mom's funeral, after we cared for her for 20 years. And my mom even stipulated in her Trust that I could live in the house after her death. I have been fighting my brother in court for my rights since her death in August. You are a good sister and person. I hope you can work it out.
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earlybird Jul 2019
ChiGirl68
I am sorry for the loss of your mother. I know it is difficult, and you certainly do not need the grief your brother is causing you. I am glad you are fighting for your rights. Do you have a life estate?
I think you are wonderful for taking care of your mother for twenty years. She was very fortunate to have such a caring daughter.I hope and pray things work out for you.
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Yes, I believe the house would have to be sold to pay her bills. It will have to go through probate too now because of no will and I think they handle that but you’re going to have to get a lawyer. Unfortunately your mother should have signed over the house while she was alive.
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I'm So Sorry for your Sad Loss...I lost my own Mom last December but was Only in May to Bury her, Rules of the Upstate cemeteries.
Being she never Made a Will, Her accounts(If any)Will go into a long PROBATE, Will freeze this so Money, Honey, Until after everything is Said Done in the Courts and Then, What is Left will be Divided Between you and the Siblings. It is THEN you Can Sell the House.
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BG, I am sorry for your loss. Have you checked the actual wording on the home's deed? Sometimes there is a TOD or transfer on death clause written on the deed itself. I wish you and your siblings all the best through this process!
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busymom Jul 2019
Katie, Thanks for pointing out the TOD clause. I had never heard of that, but yes it would be important to check on that in cases such as this.
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You might want to have a look at this site:

https://fordbergner.com/dying-without-a-will-in-texas-what-happens/

Looks like assets, however meager, will be divvied up via Texas Probate Code. BTW: the probate process can take a few months to settle everything.

Best to you.
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bg, everyone saying get probate started is correct, but if you and your siblings can have a plan, ie sister living in home will continue to live there and maintain the property and all associated expenses and the rest of you, barring one, would like to give her the house and she can get a mortgage to buy the other sister out, the judge will consider and probably agree, you will need to have an appraisal with fair market value comparisons, a real estate agent can help you with this, your sister will need an appraisal to get a mortgage.

Put a package together that shows how long she has provided care, a notarized letter from all siblings that are willing to let her have the house, perhaps she can stay as long as she continues to maintain it and at the point she sells then you guys get your share or your heirs, a lien on the property is fairly easy to accomplish with the proper court paperwork. Also, if she has been paying anything towards the house that should also be disclosed.

The judge can approve the plan as long as everything is within the law. Of course moms bills have to be paid, so that information should be included, listed by creditors, amounts due and how it will be paid.

If you guys can do that you will probably get what you desire for your sister.

Kudos to you for caring about your mom's caregivers, who happen to be your sister and her family. So many siblings don't appreciate what caregiving really entails and they are not nice to the caregiving sibling once the parent has passed. 👍
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Sorry, unless there ends up some glitch, I have found that Probate has not been that bad. Unless Mom has a big estate I don't see where u need a lawyer to get started.

Someone needs to go to ur County probate now. It can be u. (POA stops at time of death) Since there is no Will, you will be made Administrator. There are some small fees involved. You will get a Short Certificate allowing you to deal with everyone concerning Moms affairs. This will give u the ability to deal with bills owed, the bank, etc. Once I got that, I would go to her bank and ask for a printout of any accounts she has. This will show u checking accts, savings, CDs, IRAs.

I have not closed out Probate yet. I am making settlement on Moms house next week. I do have a lawyer but only because my brother inherited the house and didn't want it. Papers had to be drawn up to put the house back into the estate. He will now follow thru on Probate. Not sure if I would have needed him otherwise. My Mom had no bills when she passed. Owed no one. All she had was the house. So I see no problem with probate. I don't see u needing an elder lawyer if ur Moms estate is small. Any experienced lawyer can do probate. You can get the ball rolling on ur end. If u end up hitting obstacles (like one sister contesting what will be done with the house), then get a lawyer. You may be able to use any money Mom has for his services.

If u don't want this headache, then tell the sibling that will likely take charge what needs to be done. I would also tell the one living in the house to be proactive. As Moms Caregiver she may have some rights. She may want to consult with a lawyer on what those rights are.
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NancyInSc Jul 2019
"Once I got that, I would go to her bank and ask for a printout of any accounts she has. This will show u checking accts, savings, CDs, IRAs. "

Be sure to find out if bank accounts have your sister (or someone else) as a co-signer or co-owner. Sometimes caretakers are co-owners to accounts, and these accounts do not go through probate. They are now the property of the surviving co-owner.

IRAs, insurance policies, etc. that have named beneficiaries (not estate) also do not go though probate.

My father passed away 6 months ago, and I have recent SC probate experience. It varies by state. Since the person scheduled after me had cancelled their appointment, I had a probate judge all to myself for several hours. All my questions were answered, and the judge explained everything I needed to know to settle my father's estate except the trust issues. Fortunately, my father had a current will done in SC. The big problem is dealing with a trust with his business property that was done decades ago in another state.

I told my 94-year old mother she cannot die for a few years, because there is too much paper work to do when someone dies.
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Sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, the estate will have to go into Probate. Hire an estate attorney, he/she will guide you through the process.
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So sorry for your loss, and to have to go through probate and all it involves at the same time will be difficult.  The advice already given sounds good.  Grieve and breathe meanwhile.
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bg0884, my heartfelt sympathy to you and your family.

As others had mentioned, if there is no Will or a Trust and there are assets involved [such as the house], then you need to go to Probate Court. Depending on your State laws would be how Judge decided the estate is divided...... after all of Mom's bills are paid.

It isn't unusual for Probate to take months or up to a year to be finished, it depends on the workload of the Probate division.

In the mean time, your Mom's estate or someone in the family will need to keep up the payments on the house such as real estate taxes, homeowner's insurance, utilities, repairs and maintenance.

Talk with an Elder Law Attorney to see what is the best route to take.
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It is honestly so sad when something like this happens. If others writing the forum now are caretakers of a parent who owns a home they should take this story very much to heart, because had a trust been done Mom could have left the home to all sisters divided equally but given a "life estate" to the sister who gave her care these years which honestly is priceless and could never be repaid. Now it is at the mercy of the sister who wants to sell the home. Probate is step one. Hopefully the sister who cared for the mother can have herself appointed to settle the assets. If there was medicare and supplemental insurance then the costs may not be bad medically; if there was no supplemental then perhaps the house wouldn't even cover the bills. Try to take this a day at a time. If the sister was POA and paying bills for the mother she can now go to an elder care attorney and get assistance to try to settle the estate through probate. If there is no plan in place it can be so difficult. It can be difficult in ANY case, but with no plan, no will, no trust, it is really a mess.
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busymom Jul 2019
Yes, indeed all of us need to be proactive on behalf of ourselves and our loved ones. Thankfully, my parents set up Trusts for themselves. When my mom passed, her little bit of assets went directly to my dad. It did take some time to work through the process, but it eventually all transferred to my dad’s estate/trust. Because my parents had to move out of their home several years before my dad passed away, my dad and I discussed how much it was costing to hold onto the now empty house and how insurance would no longer cover the cost due to no one living there. We fixed up some parts of the house and sold it. The money went into Dad’s Trust account and was later divided equally amongst the heirs (5 of us).

My husband and I are now in our early 60’s. We have a Will, but are working toward meeting with a financial advisor and then meeting with an Elder Care Attorney to get our Will updated and begin the process of establishing Trusts in our names. We’ve heard and felt the struggle with loved ones who didn’t plan for their future or for the event of their death. So on behalf of our children (3), we want to gift them with less stress and hassle at the time (and after) our deaths. We will also prearrange our funeral and pay what expenses we can, as this was a huge help to me personally when both my mom and dad died.
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No one can do anything until u go to probate. Mom had no will so now the state gets involved. Someone has to be made administrator. Without a short certificate no one will deal with you. Moms debts will have to be looked at. These must be paid. The state may have to determine what happens with the house. Thats not ur sisters decision.

I think the first thing you need to do is get Moms bills together. Besides getting an invoice for services you will get a statement from Medicare showing what they covered and one from her suppliment. You may be surprised that Mom doesn't owe as much as u think. Did she have a Life insurance policy? Did she retire from her job with years of service. She could have a policy with them. Check her bank for any CDs or IRAs.

If everything works out that she has enough assets to pay bills, then u go on with the house. Did sister living there pay the upkeep, pay taxes, utilities ect. If not, then she was Moms Caregiver. Did the other siblings help? In a perfect family I would allow the sister to stay in the home as long as she paid bills and keep. Maybe pay rent to the rest. Or, she buys the rest of u out. Lets say the house is worth 200k, she pays the other 3 50k ea. But if Moms bills outweigh her assets, then the house may have to be sold, bills paid and whats left split between the 4 of u.
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There’s always a nasty battle when a loved one passed away but I will look at it on this way. Your sister and her family‘s been living in mothers house for what period of time years they’ve been taken care of mother years rent free mortgage free you can’t put a price I’ve taken care of a love one that has been the hell it is more work than you ever desired there is more work than probably the house value it’s self .
Do you know that Est. $150,000 in a skilled nursing home yearly just to take care of a love one so if you can take that figure times amount the time of years . She took care of her mother and living in that household upkeep utilities hospitals doctors appointments outings etc. etc. that over exceeds the year if that was me I will give her the house and write myself out of it family members really don’t want the house they didn’t help keep the up keep Of property / taxes . Family just $150,000 in a skilled nursing home yearly just to take care of a love one so if you can take that figure times the time of years that family took care of mother and living in that household upkeep utilities hospitals doctors appointments outings etc. etc. that over exceeds the year if that was me I will give her the house and write myself out of it family members really don’t want the house they didn’t help upkeep the house . Yes they just want funds and expect the party that’s living in the house to get the house sold and then divided between them. But if the sister living in the house if that’s her choice then my mouth is close.
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Lymie61 Jul 2019
Not "always" but I do agree with your thoughts on consideration for the sister and family who lived with and cared for mom.
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If only one sibling is interested in getting their inheritance right away, perhaps the sister living in the house can buy her share of the house.

It is only fair if they have been caregiving for mom that they have the option to buy you all out. They don't deserve the house free because of it, they had the benefit of not paying rent, not that that begins to cover the care provided, but they should have some consideration from the siblings that were saved the worries of mom because she lived there and cared for mom.

I am sorry for your loss. It is difficult to look at these situations when the loss is so fresh. Take time and encourage your siblings to figure out how everyone can get what they want. Your sister may have to apply for a mortgage and that can take some time. Hopefully everyone can wait.

I would make sure that the medical bills have been billed properly and what Medicare has paid before paying anything, there are annual maximum out of pocket expenses. Did she have any other insurance? It is not uncommon for bills to get sent out before Medicare has processed them, it is important to make sure that whole process is done before paying any bill.

My dad did this to his sister and her children scraped the money together to buy him out. They still resent him for his attitude and his demands that it happen quickly.

Hugs! It is a difficult situation.
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Well, it's nice and clear for once: I quote -

" (b) The person's estate descends and passes to the person's children and the children's descendants."

I very much sympathise with your anxiety about what now happens to your sister; but the fact is, unless your resident sister can establish some other right to the property, that the house now belongs equally to all four of you. If your sister doesn't want to leave it, and there isn't enough money in the form of other assets to satisfy creditors and the rights of the other three of you, then she is going to have to buy you out. She will need to find the cash equivalent of three fourths of the value of the house. Or even, since you mention medical debts, possibly more than that.

You can Google "probate court for [your bit of Texas]", type "intestacy" into its search function, and get the information about the process there.

How to head off family ructions: emphasise that nothing has to be done in a *hurry* - best anyway, because nothing is going to happen in a hurry whether one or more of you wants it to or not. The four of you have only just lost your mother. Your resident sister, especially, is going to have a lot to recover from. See if you can get everyone to agree to full fact-finding *before* there can be any discussion of what to do with what remains of the estate - I hope that will give you some breathing space.

To be honest, though, unless she's got an awful lot of money or has a good enough income to take out a mortgage, your resident sister would do best to expect to move house. Just, it doesn't have to be now this minute.

Are you anticipating any particular flashpoints about this?
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AlvaDeer Jul 2019
There are some very good you tube things about how to file to get probate started and to administer without a will, be appointed to be the one selling and dividing the property evenly.
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